There has been much ado about the Sopranos celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2019. Its pretty wild to think Tony, Carmella and the whole crew have been in our lives for so long.
Of course, for us metalheads – there was also some fun to be had, as Tony Soprano's son, Anthony Jr. or A.J. was very much a nu-metal kid in season 1.
A new Twitter account, @ajsopranoshirts, has made its mission documenting all of the metal references on the show and we want to immensely thank them for it. According to the account, the first sign of any heavy music on the show was in season 1, episode 4, where A.J. sports a Marilyn Manson t-shirt:
season 01, episode 4: AJ wears his first band shirt and it's a Marilyn Manson one. Plus, he rocks his room with several posters of Ulver, Moonspell, Nevermore and Stuck Mojo. What a start. #numetal #thesopranos pic.twitter.com/vD4GITeS5b
— AJ Soprano's nu-metal shirts (@ajsopranoshirts) December 13, 2018
As the seasons progressed, A.J. would rock a lot of Pantera, and Slipknot merch:
Season 03, episode 01: Soccer phase is over! AJ smokes cigs now and is wearing a Pantera t-shirt with a massive weed leaf on it because he's edgy.
This shirt was released when the "Official Live: 101 Proof" album came out in 1997. pic.twitter.com/UNXHkgKSVg— AJ Soprano's nu-metal shirts (@ajsopranoshirts) January 2, 2019
season 03, episode 03: AJ visits Meadow at her dorm and he's busting out a 1999 burgundy Slipknot windbreaker. GOD TIER NU METAL. pic.twitter.com/l6ZunGO4RS
— AJ Soprano's nu-metal shirts (@ajsopranoshirts) January 5, 2019
In Season 3, A.J. starts sporting a lot more Roadrunner bands on the show. I wanted to see if that was a coincidence or the show worked with the label. I reached out to some folks who worked at Roadrunner at the time to see what the deal was. Turns out, somebody at the label got wind that A.J. was a legit metal fan, and knew a person on the crew of the show and got in touch and sent a ton of posters and merch of Roadrunner artists for A.J. to wear on the show. The folks at Roadrunner even invited AJ to a local Ozzfest show, where he got to witness Slipknot live.
So if you're wondering where A.J. got some of his Machine Head and Coal Chamber gear in season 3, it was thanks to the folks at Roadrunner:
Season 03, episode 09: AJ is feeling the Roadrunner Records 90s metal with a Machine Head hoodie and a Fear Factory beanie.
"I don't really listen to Fear Factory, but I like their cover of Cars by Gary Numan" – the FBI lamp overheard him say. pic.twitter.com/kdczVEM4W9— AJ Soprano's nu-metal shirts (@ajsopranoshirts) January 10, 2019
season 03, episode 03: AJ plays football and is feeling the pressure of being his father's son. He's also wearing a Coal Chamber hoodie, not realizing the genre would never evolve beyond the point of conception. pic.twitter.com/lhHrsjm0RU
— AJ Soprano's nu-metal shirts (@ajsopranoshirts) January 6, 2019
Season 03, episode 11: Chris and Paulie are lost in the woods mixing tic tacs with ketchup and relish packets; Tony has steaks being thrown at his head; AJ is watching the video of "Coffee and TV" by Blur in his red Slipknot tour t-shirt from 1999.
I can relate. pic.twitter.com/OAmahDcfsB— AJ Soprano's nu-metal shirts (@ajsopranoshirts) January 15, 2019
Season 04, episode 05: Tony can't watch a documentary about Churchill in peace because AJ is blasting what he considers the most satanic death metal at full volume right at the wall.
The song in question is: "The Gift That Keeps On Giving" by Deicide. @rrusa still goin' strong. pic.twitter.com/XFTAX7TykD— AJ Soprano's nu-metal shirts (@ajsopranoshirts) January 18, 2019
Of course, A.J. made sure to keep the plot as authentic as possible – like the time he asked to go to a Mudvayne concert in the city and ended up getting his eyebrows shaved off.
A.J. always made sure to rock a Pantera hoodie:
Season 03, episode 09: AJ goes trashing the school's swimming pool with Lady Gaga, Tony and Carmela get really mad and he's grounded for a month so life is shit at the moment but at least he still has his 'Reinventing The Steel' Pantera hoodie to cheer him up. pic.twitter.com/rsqF7CBk5i
— AJ Soprano's nu-metal shirts (@ajsopranoshirts) January 12, 2019
Funny enough, the Coal Chamber and Fear Factory posters (likely supplied by Roadrunner) also appeared in other parts of the show:
season 03, episode 09: "I pity guys with good music taste, forever haunted by bad music everywhere, while we, bad taste master race, fully enjoy the alt rock bands that play at my club every night. AJ, come ova hea and hang some of your posters!" – Adriana La Cerva, *circa 2001* pic.twitter.com/KcnMD6mgnS
— AJ Soprano's nu-metal shirts (@ajsopranoshirts) January 13, 2019
Season 03, episode 09: Melfi's son Jason stole those two Coal Chamber's posters from the Crazy Horse. And the fact that he listens to Bumpy Knuckles, Primal Scream & Nine Inch Nails is the last straw in his permanent failure to socialize. Is this guy for real? pic.twitter.com/lkr7jdoJ6b
— AJ Soprano's nu-metal shirts (@ajsopranoshirts) January 14, 2019
We thank the genius behind @ajsopranoshirts, and we will be sure to keep following!
